Awards and Plagues

Seems like every blog I read has mentioned this Liebster Blog award that is going around.  It appears  to be either a curse or a blessing depending on how many times a blogger has been awarded/plagued by it.  Well, it has finally made it's way to me thanks (I think:) to Cindy at Life With My Herd,  and since I haven't been plagued by it, I accept the gift as it was intended. 

Now here's the thing, getting this Liebster Award reminded me that I actually got another award last year.  Melody at Donkey Whisperer Farm gave me a Versatile Blogger Award almost a year ago (which was nice, I like to think I am versatile), and....I forgot.  In my own defense, the timing was rather off as I got the award the day I had surgery and I had a lot of trouble with the drugs they had given me.  I think I remember accepting the award.  Maybe.  What can I say, I plead Not Guilty by way of Diminished Capacity, because let me tell you, my capacity was waaaay diminished.  Sorry Melody. 

Anyway, I don't think there is much difference between the two awards so I am going to let this stand for both.  Here are the things I am supposed to do (and I can see how doing this once would be fun, but once would be enough):

1. Thank the person who nominated you and include a link back to their blog.
2. List 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions given to you.
4. Create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate.
5. Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or fewer followers to nominate and include links to their blogs.
6. Go to each blogger's page and let them know you have nominated them.

I am gonna start with the questions, we need to shake this thing up a bit! (and I need some more thinking time)

1. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Probably Washington or Oregon.

2. Do you have a bucket list and if so, name one thing off of it? 

I may have had some version of a bucket list back in the dark ages, but my bucket kept getting knocked over and springing leaks.  Nowadays, I mostly take the world as is and fill up my bucket with the things that come along.  It seems to work for me.  That's how Emma and Ramsey came into my life after all.

3. When you aren't doing equine stuff- what is your favorite past time? 

Hiking with Tanner, building something, working on some project.

4. Your favorite guilty pleasure?

Dark chocolate chips and peanut butter.  Very bad, but oh so good.

5. Tell us about the love of your life (2 legged or 4 legged, past or present)

You already know all about my current loves, but
this may just have to be a separate blog post.  My beloved Tika deserves it.  Although it is a sad story, you may not want to read it. 

6. What goals do you have for you and your horse(s)

I'd like to be able to take my whole herd trail riding.

7. Do you have one ride of your life that was the most memorable? Can you tell us about it? 

Just one??  Hmmm, should it be one of the most fun, the biggest crash, the most meaningful, embarrassing, pivotal, or...since it is raining AGAIN, how about the time I took a 4 year old, half trained, ultra fast hackney/welsh pony out for a ride just before a thunderstorm was due.  We rode to the end of a long, straight, flat, dead-end gravel road and waited for the storm to come in.  And come in it did.  The rain pounded and the thunder crashed and I let that pony go.  We couldn't see, we couldn't hear.  Deaf and blind to all but the single voice of the roaring thunder/hooves/wind/rain, the whole world nothing but the speed and the storm.  That's as close to flying as I've ever been.

Oh. My. God!  What a stupid thing to do!  The joys that only youth and ignorance can bring.  I wish I had the courage to be that crazy/stupid teenage girl just one more time. 

8. Dogs or Cats? (or both)

Dogs!

9. What is your first reaction if you see a snake? How about a mouse?

Snake:  startle, then "oh, hi there."  Mouse in the field:  "Oh, isn't he cute".  Mouse in the house/barn: "Dammit, where's that useless cat?"

10. How do you feel about roller coasters?

Absolutely, positively loath them.

11. Favorite Movie of all time (I know, lame but I am running out of questions)
This is the hard one, I haven't been to a movie in a VERY long time. I think maybe...The Electric Horseman.

Whew, we made it this far!   Lets see...11 random facts about me:

1.  I have very long red hair.  It's red because I got stuck with that at birth.  It's long because I HATE getting haircuts, so I quit in 1996.

2.  I, and all of my peers, genuinely thought I was the only human to have red hair on the planet, right up until I was about 10 years old and finally laid eyes on another red-head.  It was rather a pivotal moment.  You know, that moment when you realize that you might NOT actually be a space alien/freak of nature/pod person after all? 

3.  I was born in a very remote area in Washington state, which explains number 2. 

4.  I didn't go to kindergarten, it didn't exist where I lived.  See above.

5.  I hate roller coasters because I very nearly fell out of one as a very young child.  The car went up and over the hill and I went up and over the side.  Luckily, my father (who had dragged me onto the dammed thing in the first place) got my ankles and reeled me back in.  Stay away from roller coasters.

6.  I don't own a TV.

7. I have never put up a Christmas tree.  It's not any kind of statement, I just can't stand cutting down a tree for that. If you had heard the sort of Christmas tree stories I did as a wee child, you wouldn't either.

8.  Are we there yet?

9.  I don't drink alcohol, it gives me migraines.  Some days, I am tempted to try anyway, but I never do. Too painful.

10.  My first horse was named Silver.

11.  I earn a living as a Histotechnicain, my version of organ grinding.

I think we've almost made it!  I see light at the end of the tunnel, hang in there.

Eleven questions for other bloggers....you know what?  I think Cindy did a great job of coming up with these questions.  I don't think I could improve on them and here is one more little random fact about me (since I did cheat on #8), I am a big believer in the "work smarter not harder" ethos along with "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".  Since these are such good questions, I'm just gonna steal them.  Thanks Cindy:)

As for the blogs I am bestowing this gift on, I tried to pick blogs that may not have gotten one of these before.  Please feel free to ignore if you choose.  Also, not all of these are horsey blogs, please feel free to alter the questions to reflect your world view.

Bow Street Flowers
The Three Muleteers
Mulewings
A Donkey Diary
Tombstone Tidings
Tyche's Run
Knee Deep in Sheep
Donkey Whisperer Farm Blog
Mustang Saga

As for the rest, I think the one thing this award is lacking is a way to get to know some of readers of blogs who may not blog themselves.  Since I have already rearranged, cheated and plagiarized, I say lets go all out!  If there are any readers out there who would like to participate, have at it and leave what you come up with in the comments or eamil it to me at aerissana at gmail dot com.  I would love to hear from you.

Whew, made it!!  How about a gratuitous donkey picture as a reward?  Tessa practicing to be a donkey....